Sword Art Online: The Final Stretch
by Infinity Moment
Summary: What if Kirito never activated The Eclipse in his final duel against Heathcliff? Would he have lost regardless? Would he have won? Or would the sesult be a lot more... Complicated? Hiatus
1. Prologue: The Duel

Sword Art Online: The Final Stretch

Prologue: The Duel

* * *

**Hey, just so you know, I'm actually OMG, the writer of ERROR: SYSTEM REBOOT, I just changed my username to DivineDualWielder. I just thought I'd get that out there so people know that OMG is now DDW.**

* * *

"Screw it," I whispered tonelessly.

Continuing, I said, "Fine, let's settle this here."

"Kirito-kun!"

"Sorry, I can't run away from this," I said softly to my beloved.

"You're going to live, right?" Asuna asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm going to win. Win and put an end to this world," I reassured her.

"All right. I believe in you, Kirito-kun."

I laid her hand on her stomach and got up, drawing my swords and walking towards the demon who created this world.

"Kirito! DON'T!" _Agil…_

"KIRITO!" _Klein…_

"Agil."

Said man gasped, desperately trying to figure out what I was going to say.

"Thank you for all your support to the swordsman class players. I know you spent almost everything you had on helping the players in the middle floors."

Another gasp came from the dark skinned giant.

"Klein."

He looked at me with wide eyes.

"I'm… I'm truly sorry for leaving you that day."

"DAMN IT, Kirito! Don't you dare apologize! Don't you dare apologize right now! I won't forgive you… I won't forgive you until you treat me to a meal in the real world!" Klein rambled desperately.

"You got it. in the real world."

I looked at my beloved Asuna, smiling softly, before turning around to face Kayaba Akihiko.

"I'm sorry, but I have one request," I told the demon standing before me.

"What is it?"

"I don't intend to lose, but should I die… I want you to ensure that Asuna can't commit suicide, if just for a while."

"Oh? Very well."

"Kirito-kun, you can't!" Asuna shouted frantically. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

Heathcliff, no, Kayaba Akihiko opened up his menu, deactivating his immortal status and lowering his HP to the same level as mine.

"KIRITO-KUN!"

I zoned out, focusing all of my attention on the demon in front of me.

_This is no duel. This is a death match. That's right. I'm going to… KILL THIS MAN!_

I charged.

"RAAA!"

_Clash!_

"RUEEH!" _Clash!_ "RUUREAAGH!"

He swung his sword right at my head, and I dodged, though his strike cut a single piece of hair.

_Charge, diagonal down, down, block-_

Blocked.

_He's the one who designed the [[Dual Wield]] skill. He knows all the system pre-generated combos! I have to avoid using sword skills and use my own skill to beat him! Faster… I NEED TO BE FASTER!_

My swords started to glow faintly, responding to my need and startling me.

_Diagonal up, diagonal down, diagonal down, left, slash, slash slash slashslashslashslashslash-_

Dust swirled all around us, making it harder for both of us to see the other. Still, I kept on striking. As soon as I left a tiny opening, he took it, swinging his sword and scratching my cheek. Rage flaring, I started to activate [[The Eclipse]], my strongest skill. Just before the combo would've taken over my body, I stopped myself, creating another opening.

Heathcliff took it, slashing and narrowly missing the chance to cut my head off.

_That was close._

"RUEEAAAGH!"

_Diagonal spin, uppercut, down, spin, flip slash-_

All blocked in a shower of sparks.

I jumped back.

Heathcliff took the offensive, charging at me.

_CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!_

"Not bad. However, you're still no match for the almighty [[Holy Sword]]!"

"We'll see about that, Kayaba!" I spat out, my hatred seething stronger than his immense power.

And the power from that hatred was adding to my own.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

_Left, right, spin, uppercut, flip spin-_

_FASTER! I CAN STILL INCREASE!_

I started to move even faster, slashing at blinding speeds.

_Left, right, cleave, double up-_

He could barely keep up.

_I have to break through!_

_Left, spin, double diagonal down-_

I knocked his shield aside with two sideways strikes, spinning around and knocking his sword out of his hand with two more.

When he tried to bring his shield back in front of him, I stopped it with Elucidator, and struck with Dark Repulser, hitting… nothing.

Kayaba Akihiko had completely disappeared.

"BASTARD! GET BACK HERE!"

Then, I noticed something… strange.

On the ground where he stood, patches of binary code were showing through the ground.

I took deep breaths, forcing myself to calm down.

_That's it. I need to calm down for now. Focus on getting to the next town, on the next floor._

"Kirito-kun…"

"I'm sorry everyone… I wasn't able to defeat him," I said crestfallenly.

"What are you talking about?! You lived! That's good enough, Kirito. We'll beat him next time for sure," Klein said with a smile.

Everyone got up slowly, free from the paralysis that had plagued the room.

"Klein…" I whispered.

"Well, why don't we go activate the portal in the next floor to get your mind off of all this?" Klein suggested.

"Right," I replied.

_It's better than doing nothing._

"What about us?" someone from the [[Knights of Blood]] asked crestfallenly. "What about the [[Knights of Blood]]? What'll we do now that we have no leader?"

"You do have a leader. She's right over there," I said, pointing to Asuna.

"She was the second in command, right? Well, now she's first. You guys have to go home and regroup, so me and Klein's guild will go open the portal by ourselves. Any objections?" I continued, forcing a smile.

"Kirito-kun, what are you say—"

Cheers erupted throughout the room, effectively separating me from the one I loved for a time. It hurt, but I had to face the facts.

_I need this, and so does everyone in the KoB. I just need some time. Some time to do nothing but what I know best. I'm going to fight. I'm going to win. I won't let _anything_ get in my way._

* * *

**A/N:**

**Well, how was that for a prologue? This is really just a teaser, so if you like what you see, then leave a review or send a PM telling me to continue. If I get at least three reviews or PMs telling me to do so, I'll continue with this story. (I'll still work on the others, but I have ZERO inspiration for those stories right now. That's why I put myself on hiatus.)**

**And yes, I know it's **_**really**_** short, but I couldn't think on how to continue the prologue without dipping into the next possible chapter. (Yeah, my inspiration is still being a little bit of an $$. Sorry about that.)**

**If you want me to continue, then I promise the chapters will be longer and have more description!**

**Well then, it's time for my parting phrase… Or, it would be, but I think I'm gonna drop that. It's pretty unnecessary. From now on, I'm just gonna say:**

**See ya!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Fight for Survival Part I

Sword Art Online: The Final Stretch

Chapter I: The Fight for Survival Part I

* * *

_Ever since yesterday, I haven't been able to get that battle out of my head. Even when I'm fighting, I can't stop mentally replaying that battle over and over. It's as if something is telling me that it wasn't right. It almost seems like he used the over assist again. But then, why would there be binary code sticking out from the ground? It doesn't make any sense!_

We were currently walking through the [[Dark Forest]], with no end in sight. Every once in a while, we would spot the occasional mob, but for the most part, the forest was empty.

"So, you think we're gonna find the next town sometime soon, Kirito?" Klein asked me.

Agitated, I said, "Not with our luck."

"Don't be such a downer," said Klein, trying to perk me up.

"Yeah, whatev— wait a second, what's that?"

I saw a small area that looked like an encampment, and yet it was empty. Not an NPC in sight, much less a player.

However, when we got closer, we noticed something very strange. There were hundreds of small spiked eyeball mobs inside the encampment.

"Oh, shi—"

On cue, the mobs all rushed toward us, forming a tidal wave of spikes.

"They had these mobs in the beta! They were on the third floor!" I shouted.

"How do you defeat them?" Klein shouted back over the sound of the wave coming closer.

"You have to lead them into water! If they fall in, they automatically shatter!"

Then a frantic question from one of Klein's guild mates, "But where the heck would we find a body of water out here?!"

"Wait, there's one in the middle of the encampment! GO!" I shouted, already running toward the small pond.

"Roger!" Klein shouted.

We ran. Ran towards a small pond, with only survival in mind. Once we arrived there, I looked into the pond, finding it devoid of any mobs.

"We have to jump in!"

"What?! Are you freaking crazy?!" exclaimed one of Klein's guild mates.

"It's either the water or them! Now JUMP!" I shouted, pointing to the horde of spike mobs.

And we did.

The spiked mobs tried to jump in the water, but they all dissolved upon contact with the pond's crystal clear liquid.

Getting back out, I looked around.

"Looks like they're all gone."

"Hey, Kirito," said Klein. "Why didn't you want us fighting them?"

"As soon as they touch you, they start to drain your HP, and they will _never_ stop. There's no way to get them off other than jumping in water," I said with darkness in my voice.

"Dark. Anyway, is this the town with the teleport gate? We have to activate it," Klein asked, looking at me expectantly.

"Why're you looking at me? I'm not able to tell just by looking, so lay off," I said, my voice sharp.

"Whoa, calm down, Kirito. Now, how do we go about finding that gate?" Klein scolded.

"Normally it would be at the center of town, but… this thing is here in its place," said one of Klein's guild mates.

"That's it!" I said. "This pond is the teleport gate. C'mon, let's activate it."

"Yeah, but I don't see a trigger, Kirito. You sure this is it?" Klein said, his doubt evident in his voice.

"Look closer. Look into the bottom of the pond. You'll see something."

They all looked closer into the pond, straining their eyes.

Klein was the first to notice a switch at the sandy bottom of the pond. "There it is!"

"Looks like it'll be tough to flip, though," said Klein with grimace. "You got a plan?"

"Yeah. I'm guessing that you'll be able to breathe down there, but it'll slow down your movements. I'll need at least one other person down there with me." Looking at Klein, I continued, "We'll both activate powerful skills to flip it."

"Why me?"

"Because you probably have the best STR stat here other than me."

"Right. Let's go!" Klein said, jumping in recklessly.

"Baka…"

I jumped in after him, getting to him just in time to block a giant fish mob's jaws from clamping down on my friend.

_Where did that thing come from? I didn't see it before!_

I nodded at Klein, signaling for him to go ahead. He reluctantly complied, moving down towards the switch with uncertainty.

_Wait, I've got an idea!_

I batted the giant fish away, quickly swimming toward the switch. Once I reached Klein, I motioned for him to move out of the way.

The fish had followed me, just as I expected. Once I reached the switch, I waited for the fish to get close enough.

_Three, two, one… JUMP!_

I jumped out of the way just in time to cause the fish to ram into the switch, then quickly activated [[Vertical 360]], forcing the switch to flip from the impact of the giant fish exploding into polygons.

Then the water started to drain, making the land inside the pond seem to slowly rise upward.

Once all the water was gone, the flipped switch stood on a small sandy hill. The switch started changing shape into a door, only the door had no opening. It was made out of pearl.

"All right guys, I think this is it. Kirito, what're you gonna do?" Klein inquired.

"I think I'm gonna keep going," I told him with conviction.

"All right, but… if you don't come back… I'll never forgive you," Klein said. His sadness was palpable.

"Not until I buy you a meal on the other side?"

"That's right! You'd better save up, because I don't eat cheap."

"Says the guy who ordered a bottle of Ginger Ale and a two-year-old box of pizza."

"Point taken, Kirito."

"All right, I'm gonna get going. I'll see you later, Klein," I said, sharing his sadness.

"All right. Teleport: [[Algade]]!" and with that, Klein was gone, along with the rest of his guild.

* * *

As soon as I stepped foot outside of the encampment, a wave of PMs bombarded me.

_Argo, Asuna, Klein, Agil, Silica, Lizbeth… everyone on my friends list just PMed me! Something must be _seriously_ wrong!_

I opened up Asuna's first.

_Asuna:_

_"Kirito-kun, come quick! Mobs are invading [[Grandum]]!"_

Then Klein's.

_Klein:_

_"Kirito! Mobs are everywhere in [[Algade]]!"_

Agil's was next.

_Agil:_

_"Kirito, mobs are everywhere! They're ruining my business!"_

Followed by Argo's.

_Argo:_

_"Kirito, get your butt over here and calm everybody down! Mobs are running around everywhere in the sixty-eighth floor, and everyone is coming to ME for info!"_

And then Lizbeth's.

_Lizbeth:_

_"Kirito, mobs are invading the town, come quickly!"_

And finally, Silica's.

_Silica:_

_"Kirito, help! Mobs are everywhere! I'm on the twenty-second floor, please come!"_

I closed my menu, having read all the PMs.

_What the hell am I supposed to do?! Where do I go first?! Wait a second… almost everyone was PMing me from different floors! Does that mean that this is happening on EVERY FLOOR?!_

I had no idea what to do. I couldn't think _at all_, let alone come up with a plan.

"Focus on the lower levels first."

I turned to the sound of the voice, finding a boy who could easily have passed as me, had it not been for his white hair and purple eyes.

"Y-Yami? Why are you…?"

His only reply was silence.

"Right, you don't talk much."

"_Whatever_ gave you that idea?"

_And when he does talk, he's usually sarcastic. I have to remember these things._

"So why are you here?" I inquired.

Again, my question was met with silence.

"Well, I'll take your advice. Thanks, old friend. Will you help me?"

"… We start from the bottom up. You start with floors one through ten, I'll start with eleven through twenty. We'll meet up every twenty floors. You continue with twenty-one through thirty, I continue with thirty-one through forty. We'll keep at that pattern, understood?"

_That's the most I've ever heard him say at once._ "All right, let's go."

* * *

When I arrived at the [[Starting City]], I couldn't breathe.

There was fire everywhere. There were demolished buildings in everywhere. But what shocked me most were the… _dead bodies_ scattered all around the place.

Horrified, I retched.

"No… this can't be happening…"

_Dead bodies? That would mean that the glitch I saw in the dungeon caused this! Wait, over there! Is that…_

"Yulier!"

I wiped the bile from my mouth and ran over to her as fast as I could, almost reaching the system's speed limit.

"K-Kirito… the orphanage. Protect… the children," Yulier gasped.

She fell limp. For the first time in SAO, I saw someone die without shattering. It sickened me.

"AAAAAGH!"

I ran as fast as I could to the orphanage. When I arrived, I found a scene similar to what I found when I first entered the [[Starting City]].

Dead bodies everywhere. I looked around and found a lone child cowering in a corner, a mob boxing him in.

"NO!"

I ran over to the girl, slashing the mob in two. It exploded, but not into polygons. It went up in searing blue flames, inflicting the child and me with a [[Burn]] status condition.

"Are you okay? Oh, right, let me heal you real quick," I said, pulling out an antidote crystal.

Once she was healed, she began to speak. "We were just playing, and then the monsters appeared, running in through the door. Th-they killed all my friends…"

"All right, come with me. I'll get you to a safe place, so don't worry."

"Re-really? You'd really do that? For me?"

"Of course." Then, gently, I asked, "Now, would you tell me your name?"

"My name is Lanna."

"Nice name. Now, are you ready?"

The girl nodded in reply.

"All right then, let's go!"

I picked her up and started running to the most secluded place I could think of.

_If I use that item, she'll be safe for a few days, but I only have ten of them. Each one holds fifty people, but she's the only living person I've seen so far._

In the end, I decided to use the item in question to save her life. Once I arrived at our destination, I told her, "Okay, I'm going to use an item to create a [[safe area]], so when it activates, you run inside. Sound good?"

"Yeah! Thank you, mister!" _This kid…_

"Please, just call me Kirito. Anyway, I'm off to find more people to keep you company, and then I'll be back. Goodbye, Lanna."

"Goodbye, Kirito!"

* * *

"Thank you so much!"

"Thank you! You're my savior!"

"Thanks so much, [[Black Swordsman]]!"

"Thanks!"

Eventually I had saved forty people, giving them all teleport crystals to go to the temporary [[safe area]].

_The mobs all seem to be around level thirty. To these people, that's deadly. Wait a minute… where's [[The Army]]?_

I rushed over to [[The Army's]] headquarters, rage flaring. The place looked abandoned, and mobs were surrounding the perimeter. At a closer inspection, I saw a few rooms with lights on.

"RAAGH!"

I ran over to the mobs blocking the entrance, finding that they went down easily.

_Right, dash, diagonal up, dash, down, dash, up, dash-_

"RAAAAGH!"

_Those cowardly Army Bastards! They didn't help all those people, and NOW look at them! Dead. Ninety percent of the population on floor one is dead!_

Once I got inside, I went straight into the main room, finding several Army members shaking in fear.

"What are you doing?!" I yelled. "Why aren't you helping the people you go _on and on_ about spreading equality to?!"

"B-but the mobs! They've grown in level, and are invading the [[safe areas]]!" one of them said frantically, trying to plead his case.

"SO?! You still could have helped them with numbers, regardless of their levels! You're all useless excuses for guild members!

"Wait a second… you guys _can_ be of use, but only if you follow my orders for a little while."

"Wh-what are you getting at?" asked a man clad in fancier armor than the rest of them.

"Have you noticed anything remotely _strange_ about how the mobs aren't entering your guild's territory?"

"You're right!" a man said.

"Therefore, it seems that guild headquarters are still [[safe areas]]! I will send people here, and your job is to keep them safe. Got it?"

"Roger!"

"All right, I'll be back with some people for you to keep an eye on, so just sit tight."

After I arrived at the area where I used the [[Deluxe Tent]] item, I entered and found forty people, all shaking in fear.

"I found a place where you'll be able to stay for a few months, just until we solve this problem," I said.

"Where?" asked a teenage girl.

"[[The Army's]] headquarters."

"What?! Are you CRAZY?!" exclaimed another teenager.

"As of right now, the only [[safe areas]] are guild headquarters, so you have no choice. Come on, let's go."

I pulled out a [[Corridor Crystal]], opened it and coerced everyone to go inside.

Once we all had entered, I called out to the [[Army]] members, saying, "All right, I'll be back with more. In the meantime, you guys take care of these people. Are we clear?"

"Crystal!"

* * *

Nine floors later, [[The Army's]] headquarters was completely filled up.

_I think I got everyone on the first ten floors. I wonder how Yami's doing._

* * *

(Yami)

_Annoying._

That was all I thought throughout the floors I assigned myself. The people were being annoying, mistaking me for someone else due to my weapon choice.

Once I finished floors eleven through twenty, I decided to PM Kirito.

_To: Kirito_

_"Where are you? I was told you were fast, but I guess everyone was wrong, 'cause I don't see you anywhere on the map. Get here quick. I don't think you'll like what you see here._

_-Yami"_

A few minutes later, someone came through the [[teleport gate]].

"What is it?" Kirito asked.

"Look around, and you'll see."

I turned around, pointing to the city in front of us.

Mass amounts of players in cloaks lined the streets, killing anyone they came across.

Kirito gasped in horror, immediately starting to run towards the scene. I grabbed his shoulder, stopping him just in time. "Idiot!" I said. "We can't stop PKers without becoming PKers ourselves. Just leave them be."

"But… we can at least do SOMETHING! We HAVE to!"

"All right, if you'll just calm down, I'll give you my idea."

*Sigh* "… All right."

"Okay. If they attack us first, then we can kill them in self defense without becoming [[Orange Players]]. I'll be the one to counter, you take the people to the nearest guild HQ. Got it?"

"All right," Kirito said. "Let's go!"

* * *

(Kirito)

Immediately after I replied, Yami sprang into action.

_What the heck?! He's almost as fast as I am!_

He drew his weapon from his back.

A double-bladed staff. That didn't surprise me _nearly_ as much as what happened next.

_He broke the staff in two._

Having one half of the staff in each hand, he ran toward the nearest PKer.

_What the hell?! Now he _is_ as fast as I am!_

* * *

(Yami)

I was in the zone, doing what I do best. Fighting other human beings.

_Humans are _so_ predictable. They're not _nearly_ as big a challenge as mobs and bosses._

Every time I let a person hit me from behind, I immediately turned around and slashed straight through them, cleaving their weapons in two—or four if I used both blades.

That's right—I had the only [[Dual Wield]] simulating weapon in the entirety of SAO.

The only downside was that I couldn't use [[Dual Wield]] skills, only regular [[Sword Skills]].

Activating [[Counter Spin]], I lay in wait as four PKers moved in on me.

They all attacked at once. As soon as I got a mere _scratch_ from each of them, I let loose, delivering a devastating endless spin attack with my left sword, not stopping until they all lay limply at my feet.

_Too easy._

I looked around, finding that not only had Kirito already moved all the players out of harm's way, but that I had annihilated all of the PKers.

_Maybe that was a little overkill._

* * *

(Kirito)

After I set up another [[Deluxe Tent]] for the survivors, I went back to check on Yami.

What I saw terrified me to the core.

Yami had annihilated everyone.

There was no one left.

Rubble lined the streets. Fire razed the bodies of the fallen, as if it were a funeral pyre.

Yami's clothes were torn, his skin covered in shallow cuts. He looked up with a glint in his eye, as if registering me as a threat. After a while, the glint faded into dark violet.

"Yami? Did… did you really kill all of them?"

Silence.

"Yami, you went a little overboard, don't you think?"

"Says the one who soloed the seventy-fourth floor boss."

"Point taken."

"All right, we need to find as many guild HQs as we can so we can keep the survivors safe," I shouted over the rush of the wind.

"… Okay."

"I suggest we stay on the same floor as each other for now, until we can figure out a plan."

"… All right. Don't slow us down," Yami said, opening up a party invite as we ran.

"Who're you talking to?"

**A/N:**

**And ****_THERE_**** IT IS!**

**The long-awaited second chapter of The Final Stretch! Well, technically it's the first, seeing as the last chapter was really just a prologue/pilot.**

**Anyway, I introduced an OC again, didn't I? Bad DDW, (well, now it's NNK) bad!**

**Yeah, this guy had been sitting there in my idea box for a while, and I decided to let him loose on the SAO world. Sooo… here are his specs!**

**Name: Yami**

**Weapon: All black double-bladed staff called [[The Devil's Edge]]. (Floor 73 boss drop.) Staff can disconnect at the center to form two blades. (It is the ONLY weapon in the game that can simulate dual wielding without actually having the skill.)**

**Appearance: Natural all-white hair, natural purple eyes, effeminate facial features, same height as Kirito, thin figure, slightly muscular. (He's very similar to Kirito, though with longer white hair and purple eyes.)**

**Personality: Stoic. He almost NEVER talks, but when he does, his speech mannerisms are quite sarcastic. Underneath all that, he's actually very shy, and only talks to Kirito. (They knew each other outside of the game.)**

**I chose to release him because Kirito needs an equal besides Heathcliff, and you have to admit, NO ONE else in the SAO universe could match him in any way. The closest person would be Asuna, and SHE said, and I quote: "When I saw your [[Dual Wield]], I thought your strength was on a whole other level."**

**All right, I think that's it! If you have any questions, please PM me or leave a review, and I'll do my best to answer them.**

**See ya!**


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